Friday, April 28
Carbondale, Ill.
1 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
23-20, 0
4
vs
1
Dallas Baptist
25-16, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Dallas Baptist
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
6
0
Southern Illinois
0
0
0
3
0
0
1
0
0
4
7
0
Salukis win opener over DBU, 4-1
04/28/2017 | 5:39:00 | Baseball
Ryan Netemeyer set the SIU single-season saves record
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois baseball team extended its season-best winning streak to five games with a 4-1 win over preseason MVC favorite Dallas Baptist on Friday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium. Starter Chad Whitmer threw eight outstanding innings, and closer Ryan Netemeyer broke a 27-year-old school record with his 14th save of the season.
"That was a good college baseball game, well played on both sides," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "No errors and some crucial hits. Both pitchers did a great job pitching around trouble. They had a leadoff triple and we had a guy at third with nobody out. Pitchers made great pitches around those."
The game was moved up to 1 p.m. due to weather concerns, and the rain was on-and-off throughout the game. With one out in the top of the fourth inning, lightning delayed the game 51 minutes. When the teams came back on the field, DBU (25-16, 6-4 MVC) had runners on first and second with one out. Whitmer ended the threat with a strikeout and a fly out.
SIU (23-20, 6-4 MVC) did its damage in the bottom half of the inning. Ryan Smith led off with a double and came home on a Greg Lambert single. Lambert scored all the way from first on Logan Blackfan's double--the 50th double of Blackfan's career. With two outs, Will Farmer came through with a clutch single up the middle to score Blackfan.
"We've been swinging it better the last couple weeks, and we did another great job today of taking what they gave us," Henderson said. "I think all but one of our hits were in the middle of the field. That's a good sign."
Armed with a 3-0 lead, Whitmer was outstanding. DBU couldn't string hits together against Whitmer. So though the Patriots had runners in scoring position four times with less than two outs, Whitmer escaped any damage each time. DBU was 0-for-11 with runners on base against the preseason All-MVC starter Whitmer.
"They're aggressive, and they're going to get their hacks in," Henderson said of DBU. "They're a good offensive club. (Whitmer) threw strikes and got ahead of hitters. He forced some contact and did well."
Dyllin Mucha provided a big insurance run in the seventh. His speed turned a double into a one-out triple. Connor Kopach hit a fly ball to very shallow center field, but Mucha beat the throw home to add an insurance run.
"(DBU) is such a good offensive club," Henderson said. "You almost saw it in the ninth inning. The guy almost popped a ball out. They have a lot of guys with juice in their bats, so we needed to expand that lead to make it more difficult to get the tying run to the plate. I thought (Mucha's run) was huge, especially when they got the run after that. In the ninth, if it's 3-1, maybe they bunt. Maybe they do something different. But with a three-run lead, they had to play it straight up."
Dallas Baptist's only run was a solo homer to lead off the eighth inning. Whitmer stayed in the game and got through the eighth inning without any more damage. Netemeyer walked the leadoff hitter in the ninth and surrendered a one-out single. Camryn Williams hit a deep fly to right field, but Ryan Smith caught it with his back against the wall. Another flyout gave Southern the series-opening win and Netemeyer the program's season saves record.
"And he has a year to go," Henderson said of Netemeyer's single-season saves record. "He has the right makeup for it. He's been our closer since he was a freshman because of his makeup. He's not afraid to be out there in those situations. His stuff is good enough; but more importantly, it takes a special toughness if you're in that role. He accepts that and relishes it. He's done a phenomenal job for three years. It's great having him down there."
Netemeyer broke a 27-year old record set by Al Levine in 1990. Netemeyer had 12 saves last year and set the record with 14 this year, and SIU still has 13 regular-season games remaining. His 27 career saves are just three away from the school's career mark.
"It's a cool accomplishment, but a lot of it goes to the team," Netemeyer said. "To be in that situation, we have to be winning, obviously. The defense has saved me on so many of those saves. It's more of a team accomplishment than anything."
Due to weather concerns over the next two days, SIU and DBU will complete the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader. Southern Illinois is going for its first-ever series win over Dallas Baptist.
"That was a good college baseball game, well played on both sides," SIU head coach Ken Henderson said. "No errors and some crucial hits. Both pitchers did a great job pitching around trouble. They had a leadoff triple and we had a guy at third with nobody out. Pitchers made great pitches around those."
The game was moved up to 1 p.m. due to weather concerns, and the rain was on-and-off throughout the game. With one out in the top of the fourth inning, lightning delayed the game 51 minutes. When the teams came back on the field, DBU (25-16, 6-4 MVC) had runners on first and second with one out. Whitmer ended the threat with a strikeout and a fly out.
SIU (23-20, 6-4 MVC) did its damage in the bottom half of the inning. Ryan Smith led off with a double and came home on a Greg Lambert single. Lambert scored all the way from first on Logan Blackfan's double--the 50th double of Blackfan's career. With two outs, Will Farmer came through with a clutch single up the middle to score Blackfan.
"We've been swinging it better the last couple weeks, and we did another great job today of taking what they gave us," Henderson said. "I think all but one of our hits were in the middle of the field. That's a good sign."
Armed with a 3-0 lead, Whitmer was outstanding. DBU couldn't string hits together against Whitmer. So though the Patriots had runners in scoring position four times with less than two outs, Whitmer escaped any damage each time. DBU was 0-for-11 with runners on base against the preseason All-MVC starter Whitmer.
"They're aggressive, and they're going to get their hacks in," Henderson said of DBU. "They're a good offensive club. (Whitmer) threw strikes and got ahead of hitters. He forced some contact and did well."
Dyllin Mucha provided a big insurance run in the seventh. His speed turned a double into a one-out triple. Connor Kopach hit a fly ball to very shallow center field, but Mucha beat the throw home to add an insurance run.
"(DBU) is such a good offensive club," Henderson said. "You almost saw it in the ninth inning. The guy almost popped a ball out. They have a lot of guys with juice in their bats, so we needed to expand that lead to make it more difficult to get the tying run to the plate. I thought (Mucha's run) was huge, especially when they got the run after that. In the ninth, if it's 3-1, maybe they bunt. Maybe they do something different. But with a three-run lead, they had to play it straight up."
Dallas Baptist's only run was a solo homer to lead off the eighth inning. Whitmer stayed in the game and got through the eighth inning without any more damage. Netemeyer walked the leadoff hitter in the ninth and surrendered a one-out single. Camryn Williams hit a deep fly to right field, but Ryan Smith caught it with his back against the wall. Another flyout gave Southern the series-opening win and Netemeyer the program's season saves record.
"And he has a year to go," Henderson said of Netemeyer's single-season saves record. "He has the right makeup for it. He's been our closer since he was a freshman because of his makeup. He's not afraid to be out there in those situations. His stuff is good enough; but more importantly, it takes a special toughness if you're in that role. He accepts that and relishes it. He's done a phenomenal job for three years. It's great having him down there."
Netemeyer broke a 27-year old record set by Al Levine in 1990. Netemeyer had 12 saves last year and set the record with 14 this year, and SIU still has 13 regular-season games remaining. His 27 career saves are just three away from the school's career mark.
"It's a cool accomplishment, but a lot of it goes to the team," Netemeyer said. "To be in that situation, we have to be winning, obviously. The defense has saved me on so many of those saves. It's more of a team accomplishment than anything."
Due to weather concerns over the next two days, SIU and DBU will complete the series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader. Southern Illinois is going for its first-ever series win over Dallas Baptist.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Whitmer, Chad (5-3)
L: Gaither, Ray (4-3)
S: Netemeyer, Ryan (14)
Batting:
2B: Hannah, Jameson 1 ; Duzenack, Camden 1
3B: Wolforth, Garrett 1
HR: Bandy, Luke 1
RBI: Bandy, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bandy, Luke 1
SB: Wolforth, Garrett 1
Batting:
2B: Smith, Ryan 1 ; Blackfan, Logan 1
3B: Mucha, Dyllin 1
RBI: Kopach, Connor 1 ; Lambert, Greg 1 ; Blackfan, Logan 1 ; Farmer, Will 1
SF: Kopach, Connor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Ryan 1 ; Lambert, Greg 1 ; Blackfan, Logan 1 ; Mucha, Dyllin 1
SB: Farmer, Will 1
CS: Sabo, Ryan 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
lf/rf
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
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INF
/ BaseballINF/OF
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OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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/ Baseball
RHP
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